Radford Primary Academy

Inspection of Radford Primary Academy Lawrence Saunders Road, Radford, Coventry, West Midlands CV6 1HD

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 18 and 19 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school in which everyone is made to feel welcome and included. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They speak positively about how staff help them with their learning. Pastoral support is available and prioritised for pupils at the right time. Pupils say that they feel safe in school and bullying rarely happens. If it does, they are comfortable to ask for support and say that teachers would resolve it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils. Their work to promote pupils’ personal development is a strength. Pupils enthuse about a range of extra-curricular clubs that are on offer, such as netball, sewing and reading. Staff work hard to ensure that all pupils benefit from valuable experiences.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Senior leaders prioritise important values such as unity, respect and care. They are at the heart of this school and the curriculum. Staff promote these through all that they do. Pupils of all ages understand what these values mean and why they are important. Pupils are kind to each other; they are polite and show good manners. Behaviour across the school is generally calm and positive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have revised and developed the curriculum. The curriculum is ambitious. They have considered what they want pupils to learn and when. Pupils are prepared well for their next steps.

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better?

The school has been on a journey of improvement. Senior leaders have set out the key learning for pupils, starting in the early years. Governors and senior leaders have ensured that subject leaders receive the appropriate challenge, support and training to lead their subjects well. Leaders have focused on the right things at the right time for pupils, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff say that they are proud to work at this school and feel valued by leaders.

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better?

Children in the early years are happy, settled and work well together. Staff use established rules and routines to support children’s learning. For example, singing together or exploring the outside area with their listening ears develop children’s communication. Children achieve well and are ready for learning.

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better?

Leaders prioritise early reading. Leaders make sure staff are well trained and that they teach phonics in the way it is intended. Staff spot if pupils are not keeping up and quickly put support in place. This helps pupils to progress and read with increasing accuracy. Pupils enjoy choosing books from the library and the classroom book boxes to take home. They also speak positively about the reading dogs that visit school each week. 18 and 19 October 2022

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Leaders organise pupils’ learning through a chosen theme. This helps pupils to connect their learning and vocabulary. Pupils of all ages can talk about their learning confidently. The support pupils receive helps them to do well. Teachers have good subject knowledge. However, in some lessons, teachers do not present subject matter clearly or adapt content to meet the learning needs of all pupils. This can result in pupils having varying learning experiences.

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Pupils with SEND are supported and immersed into the full curriculum offer. Where necessary, staff make amendments to the learning to enable pupils to access the curriculum. Leaders get to know pupils at the earliest stage and are quick to identify pupils’ needs. Consequently, pupils with SEND receive the right support and achieve well.

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Most teachers use assessment well to identify what pupils already know and can do. However, younger pupils do not always form letters correctly and some older pupils do not develop enough fluency in their handwriting. Teachers do not always identify mistakes and help pupils to put them right. As a result, pupils do not make the progress that they should with their writing.

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Leaders have thought carefully about pupils’ personal and social development. They have crafted a meaningful curriculum that extends beyond the academic. Pupils enjoy participating in a rich set of experiences. This includes meeting authors and people with different occupations. Pupils learn about democracy through school elections. They contribute positively to school life through their leadership roles.

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The school has a calm and respectful culture. On occasion, some pupils do not behave well in lessons. While some staff manage this well and support pupils back into learning, this is not consistent. Leaders manage attendance with rigour and take appropriate actions to best support pupils in attending well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a positive culture of safeguarding. Leaders and staff receive appropriate training for their roles and responsibilities. When staff are worried about pupils, they report concerns quickly. Leaders take effective action. External support is followed up to secure the right outcomes for pupils.

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Safeguarding

Staff know the pupils well. Leaders and staff know and understand the challenges and risks that pupils face. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. As a result, they can share things they have learned, and this includes knowing how to keep safe when online. 18 and 19 October 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers have not provided enough guidance to some pupils to enable them to develop their handwriting well. As a result, these pupils struggle to communicate their ideas clearly in their writing and are not making as much progress as they should over time. Leaders should accelerate their plans to support pupils with the acquisition of effective handwriting skills.  Not all staff consistently follow the school’s behaviour policy. This means that some pupils’ poor behaviour goes unchallenged and they do not behave as well as they should. Leaders should provide further training and ensure that all staff apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently.  At times, there is variability of teachers’ expertise in implementing the curriculum. In these instances, pupils do not learn as well or as much as they should. Leaders should continue to support staff in developing expertise and ensure that the curriculum is delivered in line with their aims.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 18 and 19 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241265 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Emma McCann (Executive Headteacher)

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School details

Website www.radfordprimaryacademy.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Radford Primary Academy is part of Sidney Stringer Multi Academy Trust.  The school runs its own breakfast and after-school club.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During this inspection, inspectors met with the executive headteacher, associate headteacher and other senior leaders. Inspectors also met with a wide range of staff. 18 and 19 October 2022

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 The lead inspector met with four members of the governing body, including the chair.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation relating to safeguarding. They also examined leaders’ approach to safer recruitment. Inspectors spoke to staff about their safeguarding knowledge and checked how well they understood their safeguarding responsibilities.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self- evaluation and improvement plans, minutes of governing body meetings and information on the school’s website.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes, lunchtimes and while in lessons.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and geography.  For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 Inspectors met with the school’s special educational needs coordinator and those responsible for personal development and pastoral care.  Inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online parent, pupil and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Gemma Mann, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Donna O’Toole Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 October 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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